Sachin, again

There was just this one shot today, that seemed to say it all.

One ball off Dale Steyn was just short of a good length, outside the off stump, and Tendulkar played (or rather, attempted to play) a front foot push to extra cover, and the ball beats the outside edge of the bat. Tendulkar looks down at his bat, knowing that he did something wrong.

Next ball, Steyn tries the same thing, but pushes it a little further up the pitch, so if he tried the same shot, he would definitely edge it to the slips. Tendulkar tries the same shot, but this time he had planted himself a little bit further down the pitch to counter any seam movement, so the ball finds the middle of the bat.

Now the reason for two attempts at the same shot? Well, there was an extra cover, a cover, and a point fielder, one of whom was Herschelle Gibbs (at cover), who is considered one of the best fielders in the game. What better way to show who's boss except pierce that field!

He didn't get a four, btw. The man at extra cover dives, gets a hand on the ball, and slows it down a bit, and it runs into the outfield. Gibbs chases it down, and Sachin gets two. This was that kind of day.

Sanspareils Greenlands

That is the expansion of "SG" - the company that makes all the balls we love to fondle.

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Here is a little treat for those who care about what happens to a ball before it meets Sehwag's bat. I'm not sure which is worse.

The Making of a Cricket Ball | OPEN Magazine

A cricket ball’s life is hard-earned and short. Before it is ready for a pounding, it is hung, soaked, stretched, and has its lips stitched. Afterward the beating is more external. But it lives for one day, and that is its place in life.

Partisan Crowds

So, Indian cricket fans are literally having their cake and eating it too right now. India is the "Number 1" cricket team in the world thanks to some dubious statistics from the ICC (demystified thanks to Russel Degnan here), they have just finished a riveting series against the fantastic South Africans (anyone who disagrees with that just needs to have a look at Dale Steyn on song). All in all, pretty heartening to see Test cricket return to the Indian public consciousness after many years of languishing in the shadows of ODIs and that Twenty-20 monstrosity.

However, there is something I would like to think/talk about - the crowds in India. The Eden Gardens just witnessed one of the best Indian victories in the Test arena, and was lauded by everyone watching for their support of the Indian team and the fact that the crowd is the X factor, the 12th man, your mom's chicken curry, etc. What I'd like to point out is how bloody partisan those crowds are! When Hashim Amla (the best batsman in the tournament, notwithstanding the belligerence of Sehwag or the precision of Tendulkar) reached his fifty on the final day at Eden, the hush in the crowd was so palpable it made you feel bad for him. He was the only South African with a backbone on the final day, and it was clear from the start of the day that all India had to do was to get him out (which they didn't, btw, they merely made sure he ran out of partners), and yet there was not even an attempt to applaud the young man.

On the other hand, if Sachin so much as runs down to the boundary and fields a ball, the crowd is up and clapping. Agreed, this is a man who more then deserves the adulation of the fans, but it is disappointing to see the crowds react so favourably towards cricketers from India, and so unfavourably towards others.

This whole situation is also exacerbated by the silly games the IPL is playing, together with Lalit Modi in the driving seat, to ensure that broadcast rights for the IPL 2010 end up lining their pockets even more over the next year.

All in the name of cricket. What a shame.